


Beach

by agentcain



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, I don't have any idea what I'm doing, M/M, Noodle Dragons, kind of minor(?) but it's there, the noodle dragons are very poorly behaved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 08:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14016048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentcain/pseuds/agentcain
Summary: Sometimes we have to share things that we didn't want to share with the people we care about before it ends up hurting us.





	Beach

**Author's Note:**

> I'm very new to this fandom, not to mention fanfic writing in general, so constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Also I don't know what tags to use so...

“Would you look at that!”

Hanzo was awakened by the crash of a vase falling off a table and several sets of small claws digging into the left side of his face. He sat up, looking around wildly for the source of the commotion - Jesse McCree, holding a laser pointer keychain with a surprised expression on his face, one long blue spirit dragon chasing the red dot, and the other one, sitting happily among the remains of the vase.

“Oh, it is simply you,” he said, somewhat relieved. He yawned, stretching and sitting up in his bed. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You looked so peaceful sleepin’,” responded Jesse. “Also I’ve only been awake for ‘bout an hour myself.”

He clicked on the laser pointer, chuckling a bit. “Have you seen this? Y’all got some weird cats, but they’re cute, I’ll give ‘em that.” Hanzo sighed. Jesse’s refusal to accept that the noodle dragons were indeed not cats had begun to get on his nerves.

“They are not cats, Jesse,” he said for what was probably the hundredth time. “Nor are they pets. Put that toy away.” He turned to the dresser next to the bed and opened the top drawer, beginning to get dressed for the day. He’d gotten used to the other’s presence during his morning routine over time, but he still found himself highly aware of the presence. It still made him uncomfortable sometimes, trusting people, but he tried to ignore the feeling.

“Come on sweetheart,” protested his companion. “Look at ‘em go!” Hanzo turned around to see one of his highly dignified spirit beasts make a flying leap for the red dot, miss, and land clumsily on its face. He sighed, muttering under his breath. Why did they have to be so damn embarrassing in this form?

“Fine.” He pulled on his shirt, quickly looking in the mirror. “What time is it?”

“I think it’s seven forty.” Jesse put the laser pointer back in his pocket, fidgeting with his hat. “If your weird cats ain’t pets, why do you pet ‘em like that?”

“I don’t,” said Hanzo, hastily setting the purring dragon on the wrinkled bedspread. “We missed breakfast, then?” He frowned. “You should have woken me.” The dragon rubbed its face against his side, hopeful for more attention.

“We sure did,” said Jesse cheerfully. “That’s why I brought you somethin’, cause I wanted to let you sleep in.” He grinned, gesturing to a paper bag leaning against the door. “I even kept the cats out of it and everything.” He picked up the second noodle dragon, cradling it like a baby. “I’ll tell you, that wasn’t easy.”

“I assumed,” said Hanzo, sitting cross-legged on the floor next to him and accepting the gift. “Thank you.” He unwrapped his sandwich, elbowing a hopeful noodle dragon away. “No. this is not for you.”

Jesse scooped up the offending creature, which licked his hand in greeting. “Morrison’s gonna have both our asses for this,” he said. “We probably missed somethin’ important. Don’t worry, I’ll cover. ‘S my fault anyway.” The first noodle dragon started fidgeting, nibbling at the button of his coat. He chuckled, patting its head.

“It’s Sunday,” said Hanzo, confused. “There is no regularly scheduled training today.” He smiled hesitantly as if trying to remember how. “We could go somewhere together today, no?”

“Indeed we could,” said Jesse. “Coffee shop again?”

“Yes, that would be nice.” He glanced at the dragons. “That one is chewing your coat,” he observed disapprovingly. “Stop encouraging bad behavior.”

Jesse nodded, setting the offending dragon on the floor. “Fine, fine. Let’s go, then.”

"Be patient for a little bit," said Hanzo. "I'm still eati - No! Bad!"

The noodle dragon, having been forcibly removed from its previous activity, had made a flying leap for the sandwich. It scampered away with the prize, hiding under the nightstand.

"Does he think we can't seem 'im or somethin'?" Jesse reached under the table, poking the tip of the blue tail. It vanished with frantic scrabbling sounds. "Naughty little bastard. He knows better." He picked up his hat, edging closer to Hanzo. "They're cute, I'll give 'em that. Nearly as cute as you," he said cheekily.

Hanzo frowned. "I fail to see the comparison, myself." Jesse chuckled, wrapping his arms around the other man. Hanzo tensed at the sudden contact, closing his eyes and forcing himself to relax.

"Tired?" asked Jesse. Hanzo nodded, leaning his head against his shoulder. "You were up pretty late last night. What were you doin', anyway?" Hanzo knew he had probably guessed already, but he didn’t want to unnecessarily burden the cowboy with problems that didn’t relate to him.

"Thinking  about things ,"  he said  shortly. They both knew what  _that_  meant.  He could tell the other wanted him to say more, but didn’t pry. Hanzo could appreciate that. It was his problem and his problem only, after all.  A companionable silence fell, save for the sounds of one small dragon scarfing down half a sandwich and another purring.

“ Hey, you still awake there?” wondered Jesse. The interruption came after what had seemed like two minutes to Hanzo but had probably in reality been closer to five. He nodded, yawning. “Good. Just checkin’. You’ve got this weird ability to fall asleep anywhere, you know?”

“Yes. I am aware,” said Hanzo, standing up. “We should go  now if we are going to . It has to be at least eight by now.” The little hole-in-the-wall cafe they usually went to while they were stationed  in Miami   would be flooded with people by now, he realized.

“ Alright. After you,” said Jesse, standing up and opening the door. Hanzo simply nodded, reminding himself that the action was intended as a kindness and not an insult. He had misunderstood McCree’s actions when he had first met him, taking offense at nearly everything he had done. It had taken him a while to get used to the odd mannerisms.

He looked back just in time to watch Jesse scoop up a noodle dragon and put it in his hat. He couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“What are you doing?” He asked. “Here. They like pretending to be scarves.” He set the wiggly critter on the cowboy’s shoulder and it immediately coiled itself loosely around his neck, snuggling into his shirt.

“What about the other one?”

“I’ll get it,” he said, quickly reaching behind the nightstand and catching the crumb-covered noodle dragon. “You,” he said solemnly, wagging a finger at the beast, “Are  _very_  naughty today.” The dragon crawled up his arm, winding around his neck and promptly falling asleep.  H shook his head, sweeping some stray crumbs off his shirt.

They  _did_  make pretty adorable scarves, all things considered.  But sometimes those little claws hurt, digging into your shoulder. He was glad Jesse tolerated the oddities of his life, he thought with a faint smile, since they were many in number and great in proportion.

He  stiffened as Jesse’s fingertips brushed his, hand closing around his own. He could tell the reactions displeased the cowboy, though not overmuch, and he wished for the millionth time that he were someone, anyone else more deserving of the attention the other had mysteriously and inexplicably decided to lavish upon him in recent months.

“The usual place, then?” he asked. Jesse nodded, petting the noodle dragon. “You know it is going to be crowded by now...”

“Yeah but it’s where we go,” said Jesse. “It’s a thing now. We just gotta.”

“Hmm,” said Hanzo. The noodle dragon woke up, shaking its head  vigorously  and wiggling a little before beginning to chew  on  his  left  ear. He flicked it with the hand that was not currently being held and it squeaked, scampering into the hood of his jacket.  Jesse noticed, smiling a little.

“Still don’t understand why you’re wearin’ that coat in this weather,” he said. “You’re not even hidin’ that bow of yours under it right now.”

“It’s cold,” he said gruffly, even though it was seventy degrees and sunny. He felt slightly embarrassed  by  it, but the coat had been one of his favorite possessions from the day Jesse had given it to him (“I don’t need your handouts.” “Alright then. You just looked like you were freezin’ to death out here. You do know it’s twelve degrees out, right?” “...Fine. I will accept your gift. Thank you.”)

“No it ain’t,” said the cowboy.  He squeezed Hanzo’s hand reassuringly as he looked away. “It’s fine to be sentimental,” he mumbled. “Most people are.”

“Mm.” He really didn’t want to have this conversation, but lately, it seemed inevitable. Most people were allowed to be ‘sentimental’, to form attachments, but he could not allow himself to do the same.

He already knew the thing with McCree, whatever it was, would end poorly. No good could come of personal attachment.

“You alright there, darlin’?” Hanzo nodded and squeezed his hand in return. The noodle dragon bit his ear again but he ignored it. Bad behavior should not be rewarded with attention.

“Yes,” he said. “I am simply tired, that’s all.” The walked in silence for a bit, avoiding the worst of the crowded streets. Eventually, they stopped in front of the cafe.

“That’s quite a line,” said Jesse, gesturing to the jam-packed building. The place was a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop with a flickering neon sign, bright green letters spelling out ‘Verdant Cafe’. The interior had poor and uneven lighting, lots of obviously fake plants in every place they fit, and the best breakfast food in Miami (in their opinion, at least).

Unfortunately, the line was halfway down the block. They were not the only ones who loved the place, and it would certainly take hours to get in. At the very least. Hanzo looked at Jesse and nodded in agreement.

“Let’s go somewhere else,” he said, leading the other down the block and away from the shop. “How about we walk around and see if something around here looks interesting?”

“Agreed,” said Jesse, looking around. “You must be burning to death there, by the way. Why don’t you let me hold onto the coat for now?” Hanzo nodded reluctantly – he couldn’t see any fault in the logic, but he didn’t want to admit he had been wrong.

He stopped at the street corner, removing the noodle dragon from his shoulder, setting it on the ground where it lay in a heap of sleeping critter, unzipping the jacket, and handing it over. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief – the sun really had been getting to him, and the t-shirt was certainly more appropriate for the weather.

“Hey let’s go to the beach,” said Jesse, smiling. “I’m sure there’d be some kind of food place there.” He looked hopefully at Hanzo, who raised an eyebrow. “Please?”

“I thought you already ate breakfast,” he said. “Plus, we’re here to work, not to play on the beach.” The formerly sleeping noodle dragon, returned to his shoulder, squeaked loudly and bit his ear. Apparently, it agreed with the cowboy instead of him.  _Traitor_.

“Come on,” said Jesse pleadingly, giving a thumbs up and wink to the offending noodle dragon. “Even the cats agree with me!”

“Fine,” said Hanzo. “As long as you get me some ice cream. And  _don’t_  tell Morrison or Reyes where we went.”

“Deal,” said the cowboy enthusiastically. “It’s that time Genji and I wandered off in the middle of a job to go to an amusement park, but not!” Hanzo gritted his teeth at the mention of his brother. He had recently been jealous of the history between McCree and Genji, despite his belief that Genji deserved the friendship more than he deserved... anything, really. He still couldn’t help the anger any mention of the two caused him, and it irritated him immensely.

“Alright!” he said. “I already agreed. Let’s go.”

“Yes!!”

They made their way toward the beach they had seen upon their arrival – the hotel Morrison had made them stay at for the first couple days, before they could get the bade set up, had been right next to one. Some of the others had hung out there, he remembered, but never him. He had been busy cleaning up noodle dragon vomit (Jesse fed them cat food).

“Hey,” said the cowboy, waving his hand in front of the archer’s face. “You awake there?” He nodded, tilting his head away from the hand. He never had much liked things that close to his face.

“We’re here,” said Jesse, pointing at the beach excitedly and dragging Hanzo toward the sand. He sighed and stumbled after him, smiling despite himself. The beach was very sandy and the water was crystal clear, and hundreds of people wandered in and out of the surf, shouting and laughing an generally being alive.

“Stop!” he said, pulling McCree back. “Take your shoes off first. I do not want to have to clean more sand out of the apartment than absolutely necessary.”

“Sure sweetheart,” replied the other, pulling off his boots and setting them down in the sand next to everything else they had brought. Hanzo did the same, frowning at the sensation of the hot sand against his feet.

The noodle dragon on Jesse’s shoulder, awakened by the sudden movement, squeaked loudly and leaped down to the ground, taking off in circles around the two before losing its balance and landing on its face. It wiggled in embarrassment, snout stuck in the sand.

Jesse doubled over laughing. “Oh my God, Hanzo, did you see that?!” He caught his breath, gasping for air through the snorts of laughter, but then started laughing hysterically again immediately after. Hanzo smiled, watching him.

Maybe the highly undignified spirit beasts weren’t that bad if it meant he could hear that laugh every once in a while, he thought, watching the cowboy struggle to reign in his amusement. His stupid hat had even fallen off, he realized, chuckling a little.

“Hey, there’s an ice cream place,” said Jesse, standing up and brushing the sand off of his clothes. Hanzo helped him up, picking a leaf out of his hair and putting his hat back on his head. He scooped the noodle dragon out of the sand, setting it next to the other one on his shoulder.

“Let’s go then,” he said elbowing the cowboy in the ribs. “You promised me some, remember?”

“Well, I don’t know about  _promised_ , but -” Hanzo looked at him. He stopped. “Fine. I’ll get you your ice cream,” grumbled the cowboy. “You’ve got a real sweet tooth, you know that?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” said Hanzo, trying not to laugh.

“Yes you do, sweetheart. I’m talking about the time you got two cakes and ate them both yourself. And the other time you bought two cakes and ate them both yourself. And the time you bought a giant bag of chocolate and ate the whole thing. And the time -”

“Alright, alright! I get it,” he said. “We can ju- “ He let go as sharp little claws dug into his shoulder and back - both noodle dragons had spotted the water and put in their bid for freedom.

“Hey!” He ran after them, trying not to lose his balance on the shifting ground as his feet dug into the sand. “Come back here!” Jesse ran after him, holding his hat to his head with one hand.

The closest noodle dragon swerved just after they reached the water. Hanzo made a desperate grab for it, reaching his hand out to brush the tail just as it flicked out of his reach, lost his balance, and...

_Splash._

He coughed and spluttered, sitting up and shaking the water out of his eyes. The noodle dragon that had narrowly escaped capture sat right next to him on the sand, chirping nervously as he glared at it.

He’d fallen face-first into the water, he realized, and his shirt and pants were soaked through. The strand of hair that hung in front of his face was dripping water onto his nose. He growled irritably, standing up. He’d fallen about four feet from the dry land and was currently standing up to his ankles in the ocean.

Jesse ran toward him, holding onto his hat, shouting something. The other noodle dragon dived in front of his legs, tripping him up, and...

_Splash._

“Gahh!” The cowboy pulled himself up to a sitting position, spitting ocean water and coughing. He shook his head, trying to dry out his beard – to no avail. He looked very silly all wet like that, thought Hanzo with a smile – but he himself must not have looked much better.

“You okay there, Jesse?” he wondered, sitting back down and resigning himself to soaked clothes. It had already happened, he figured – there was no sense in avoiding it now.

“Yeah,” coughed the cowboy, looking around for his hat. “I’m okay. Little bastards,” he growled, glancing after the retreating noodle dragons. Hanzo nodded, snatching the other man’s hat out of the water seconds before he could reach it himself. “Hey! Give that here,” he said, grabbing for it.

“No,” responded Hanzo with a smirk, leaning back and holding the hat away from him.

“Oh, so that’s how it is,” grumbled Jesse, splashing him. He grinned, standing up and taking off into the water until it reached his waist.

“Come and get it if you want it back!” He held the soaked cowboy hat up and waved it around, laughing. Jesse smiled and gave chase. He picked a direction and ran, splashing further into the water until it was deep enough he could swim in it.

He winked at McCree, diving under the surface and swimming out from the shore. He got several meters before the cowboy caught up with him, grabbing him by the legs and wrestling him back into the shallow water.

They both gasped for air, wrestling for the hat.

“Give up,” said Hanzo, blocking the other’s grab for the object with his free hand.

“Never,” said Jesse breathlessly, tackling him. They both found themselves mostly underwater, still wrestling for the hat. The cowboy finally got ahold of Hanzo’s wrist, prying open his grip and snatching the hat away. He grinned triumphantly, water dripping onto Hanzo’s face from his hair. “Nice try, sweetheart!”

Hanzo’s eyes widened, realizing that not only was the cowboy’s face inches away from his own, he was lying flat on his back with the other man seated on his hips. He pushed Jesse off, blushing furiously.

The cowboy gave him a look full of worry and concern. “Did I hurt you somehow, darlin’?” He wrung out his hat nervously, scooting closer to the archer. Hanzo frowned, realizing his reaction had probably upset Jesse again without meaning to.

Why did the cowboy insist on doing this? What made him think that he was deserving of love and affection? Because he wasn’t, at least not according to his own standards!

“No, you did not. I apologize for reacting poorly,” he said quietly. Jesse shook his head, patting him on the back.

“No, it’s fine to have boundaries,” he said in return. “If you don’t want me doing somethin’ that makes you uncomfortable, just tell me and I’ll stop doin’ it. It’s okay.” Hanzo nodded, closing his eyes.

“No. You did nothing to make me uncomfortable,” he said. “I just...” he paused.

“Go on,” said the cowboy. “You can tell me stuff, you know that? You don’t have to carry all of your burdens yourself you know. I’m here to help.” Hanzo nodded, panicking. Why had he decided to say something in the first place? But now he had to go through with it.

“I just don’t understand why you’re so nice to me,” he said sadly. “I don’t deserve it! Why don’t you just go flirt with somebody else who  _does!_ I tried to kill my own damn  _brother_ , for fuck’s sake! I have no redeeming qualities! What on Earth makes you think that  _I_  of all people am a good choice of friend, much less, well...” He realized he was shouting and turned his head sideways, ducking his shoulders. “I’m completely worthless,” he whispered.

“Jesus,” said Jesse wonderingly. Hanzo moved to stand up –  _now Jesse knew what he thought, he must agree. There was nothing left for him to do but leave and-_

Jesse pulled him back into the water.“Wait. Is that really what you think of yourself?” Hanzo nodded silently. The cowboy grabbed his face, looking into his eyes. “Listen. None of what you just said is true.” He paused. “Well, other than the thing ‘bout Genji. But none of the rest of it, you understand?” He pulled him into an embrace. “You  _do_  have good qualities. There is no one in this entire damn  _world_  more deserving of love than you, you hear that? You are  _not_  worthless and I don’t  _ever_  want you to say things like that about yourself again.” Hanzo flinched as he grabbed his hands. “You’re not allowed to think them about yourself, either. You hear me? You are an amazing human being deserving of everything life has to offer, darlin’.”

“Oh,” Hanzo said. That was not the reaction he had been expecting (He wasn’t sure what was. Rejection, probably). He forced himself not to cry, swallowing the lump in his throat. “Alright,” he said quietly. “I will try.”

“Good,” said the cowboy, kissing him quickly on the cheek. He forced himself to relax.  _I deserve this. My past doesn’t get to define who I am now._

“Now, how’s about that ice cream I promised you? It’s nearly lunchtime now,” said Jesse affectionately. “Maybe a break from all the heavy emotional stuff might be good for you, huh?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Ice cream for lunch, Jesse? Really?” The cowboy snorted at the incredulous expression.

“Don’t pretend you wouldn’t enjoy it,” he retorted. “Hey, where’d them weird cats go?”

“Good question, “ said Hanzo, frowning. “We can go find them after we get lunch. I think they’ll be okay on their own for that long at – Ow!” Sharp claws, digging into his leg. He looked down to see an excited pair of noodle dragons, both with cheeks stuffed full of what looked to be french fries. He sighed, removing the waterlogged beasts from the water and setting them on their usual perch.

“Well, that mystery has been solved, at least.” Jesse smiled. “Looks like some poor fast food customer lost his order.” The smaller noodle dragon purred, leaping from Hanzo’s shoulder to his. He scratched the back of its head, chuckling quietly. “Naughty little bastards.”

Hanzo nodded, studying his face. Maybe personal attachments weren’t quite so bad, after all.


End file.
